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Legal View with Ashleigh Banfield
Candidates and the Debate Discussed. Aired 12:30-1p ET
Aired October 13, 2015 - 12:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[12:30:00] ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN HOST: Senator Clinton its just a run away. Look at her with 56 percent of the vote. Biden again not in the race there at 26.
So, if you look at Bernie Sanders he's at 6 percent. This is a massive section of voters, and some say...
MIKE ROGERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes.
BANFIELD: It is absolutely crucial. I mean this is the voting bloc that helped President Obama. So I've got you both to weigh in if you could like 30 seconds apiece on how Bernie Sanders can somehow dig into the landslide that she already got going.
Go ahead Mike.
ROGERS: Well, again he just has to use this to connect to those voters. He hasn't done it well. He has tried to make a transition on the campaign, that's been pretty apparent, but he hasn't surrounded himself with minorities in away that advices campaign that allow him to connect and if doesn't do that tonight. I think he's going to suffer the numbers for this for awhile even if he continues with those big rallies.
BANFIELD: Well, thank you (inaudible).
HILARY ROSEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, non-white voters are the key actually not just to winning the Democratic primary but the key to winning the general election. You know, Bernie Sanders has not -- he has an extremely good civil rights record, but he's not been able to translate that into kind of the issues that people are facing today and justice around immigration and justice around police brutality and those things.
Hillary Clinton has been much more aggressive and trying to court those issues and those voters. And, you know, she also has a sort of more public longer history with that community. That is absolutely the challenge tonight on a stage where all of these candidates are white. Is how do you engage and energize the non-white voters the care that they need to vote Democratic again to continue what Barack Obama has done.
BANFIELD: You know, it sure looks like she's got the luck on them but, you know what, we've seen that before.
ROSEN: No one has a luck. ROGERS: Yes.
BANFIELD: Something appears to be a lock at the end. No one is luck on anything.
ROGERS: Too early for luck I think.
BANFIELD: Mike Rogers, Hilary Rosen. Thank you so much. Nice to have both on. I do appreciate it.
ROGERS: Thanks for having us.
ROSEN: Take care.
BANFIELD: Terrific. All right, so how can you weigh in with your own questions for the candidates and share your opinions on who is winning, during tonight's debate in fact.
CNN is going to team up with Facebook and we're going to demo this whole thing for you. It may look like a big tray of cookies, but it serious business folk, is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:37:09] BANFIELD: The sights, the sounds, the time clock. It means we are officially just eight hours away from the first Democratic debate of the season. And CNN and Facebook are teaming up for this big event. If you go to our web page about this, you're going to see a tab on the Facebook page called debate live vote. This a spot where you can actually give your feedback in realtime and no not only that, you can submit questions to the five candidates, and we might pick yours to ask that candidate.
Our Don Lemon is busy hanging out in the Facebook lounge, because that is what one does in the Facebook. How did you get that assignment, and I am here working in the desk?
DON LEMON, CNN TWITTER@DONLEMON: The squeaky wheel, that's gets oil.
BANFIELD: Well, look at you. What you got? It looks like a bunch of the rubiks cube in front of you. Give me the nickel tour.
LEMON: I do. I got little fount (ph) and, you know, John Berman will not -- he wants to be in my life style (ph). There he is with Chris Moody and they're doing that.
BANFIELD: Oh, you're right.
LEMON: Some sort of thing taping something. It's like he has his own show. Check this out Ashleigh. Like this my little donkey pillow , the correct name is jack, I won't say the other part. It said jack, you know what, pillow here in the pit. It's really cool. I mean, it exactly what you would think it is like Facebook headquarters, like young people in skinny jeans and beard hanging out a lot.
BANFIELD: Yes. LEMON: And this, that's exactly what this is. So and it's got as you said let me make way around here. It's got a lot of little fun things, like rubiks cubes and all kinds of things. But it's really interesting, because this is what people are going to be hanging out, it really is allowed to talk about what's happening around the country, issues that people finding important, the discussion that they are talking about, which candidate they are talking about.
And, you know, in this House in this space in this Facebook lounge with our little, you know, table and coffee and pens and water and all of that. You can turn around this way we'll show you, this is the spin room. So this is where the candidates and the surrogates will all come with the media, you know, it's like Oscar night, and they get to talk about why they should win the Oscar, why they win? Why they won the debate what issues that they think are important as well and so that why everybody is Housed.
So in the same room, spin room, and Facebook lounge which is interesting thing sort of, you know, two things have together and that's -- this is where we are talking about here. What do you want to know about this board, Ashleigh?
BANFIELD: I want to know, if we're actually going to have the questions light up, and then also, Don, I want to know if the moderators choose the question from the audience on Facebook, will you also be doing sort of live hits and reading some of the other comments so that if, you know, you can't read anybody, but you want to get as many on the air as possible.
LEMON: So, this is our first live shot here. So the questions are still going through the questions, people are still submitting their questions. So before and we'll get some questions in, and I'll post some to the mock candidates during the live shots before the debate. During the debate I'll be in the hall with Dana, Juan Carlos and of course Anderson and then.
[12:40:01] So, I'll get to ask some of the question that people have, you know, sent in, pretty close to the debate. And then after the debate we'll be back here in the Facebook lounge as well.
But this is what people are taking about. So if you want to look at, this is the whole map obviously the United States. We've got the hit map, we've got issues and we've candidates. So if you want to look at the top five conversations that people are having, top five conversations, top five candidates.
You can see the top five are religion, guns (ph), economy and what have you. So it just sort of shows you like here that what between genders. And this is sort of around the country where people are talking about them.
And then if you look at the candidates here. That's Hillary Clinton where people are talking about it. But I've got to show you, if got to show you Donald Trump, lights up the board.
BANFIELD: Wow. LEMON: That just shows you the interest content. Yet, everybody is talking about Donald Trump.
BANFIELD: And this realtime Don, like these are people right now talking on Facebook about Donald Trump all the red zone?
LEMON: This is within the last ten days or so up until now.
BANFIELD: Wow, OK.
LEMON: Yes, people who're talking about Donald Trump. He is by far the candidate that people are talking about the most amongst Democrats and Republicans.
BANFIELD: He's on fire.
LEMON: We'll be watching it all here. From the -- so to speak, right? With orange right there.
BANFIELD: Right. Don, that's great. What I neat idea. Thank you.
LEMON: All right.
BANFIELD: And I'd love that you spun us to the spin room, very effective producing.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: I'm going to lounge. I'll see you later.
BANFIELD: OK.
LEMON: I'm going to go back to my little...
BANFIELD: Bring me one of those rubiks cube Don Lemon.
LEMON: All right, would like a pillow for the kids. I'll bring to him for you.
BANFIELD: I'll take two of them for boys that be great. Thank you Don. I love when he does live shots. I just love that.
All right so, not to forget them folks the other three guys are also going to be on the stage with Sanders and Clinton. Who you ask? Yes, good question because these three have to do whatever it takes to break out, have a moment, shake things up, get your name known, because if you jaywalk around town, any town, a lot of these guys, no one knows who they are.
We're going to figure that one out next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[12:46:28] ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR, ANDERSON COOPER 360: You know, I think what makes a good question is something that, you know, elicits an honest response.
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I think in cracking a question simplicity and clarity matter most. Is their disagreement and their differences that you want air out.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Remember what you're doing is for where doing this so the viewers out there get a better understanding, a better appreciation of who these men and women are.
DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: It's hard to say what makes a good and bad debate question, because so much of the answer to that question is the answer that the candidate gives.
COOPER: Actually listening to what being said and pivoting off what somebody has just said or perhaps talking the conversation in different direction for another candidate to bring them.
KING: But if you can get either the two candidates' words to pit them the against each other and sometimes you ask an open-ended question, and they go where their mind takes them as suppose to where their talking points take them. So there's a value on that.
COOPER: You know, the worst thing in the world is just be sitting there with the list of questions that you brought out in advance and then just waiting for the person to stop talking so you can just go on to the next question. Those you never want to do that.
BASH: A lot of the prep is trying to kind of game out what the candidate is or isn't potentially going to say.
KING: If a week later nobody can remember the name of the moderator, but they got information to help them make their decision, then you did your job.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: And that is a tough job. And we are going to be looking forward to seeing those guys at work tonight. One of my favorite things about Jay Leno when he did the show was "Jaywalking" he go out and he'd asked simple questions of average people out on the streets and get their answers. So what a great idea in Vegas on the day of the debate to actually show you what people think about those five candidates.
You know already Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders more than likely, But what about those three others. Yeah. Martin O'Malley, Jim Webb and Lincoln Chafee, tough one, right? Watch what happened when Alisyn Camerota went and asked that same question.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Do you know any of the other candidates who will be there?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For the Democrats?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are more than Hillary, Bernie that's about it.
CAMEROTA: There are three more that are going to be...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, O'Malley.
CAMEROTA: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And let's see here, what is that other guy? Webb I believe.
CAMEROTA: Have you heard of Hillary Clinton?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Oh yes. I heard of him, yes.
CAMEROTA: Bernie Sanders?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
CAMEROTA: Jim Webb?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
CAMEROTA: Martin O'Malley?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
CAMEROTA: Lincoln Chaffee?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Trust me that went on, and on, and on. It was actually comical. I want to get beyond the Hillary and the Bernie conversation, and talk a little bit about, oh yeah the others, Martin O'Malley, Jim Webb, Lincoln Chaffee. Want to give you some background on these three guys.
Let's start with Martin O'Malley, 52 years old, born in D.C., former Mayor of Baltimore and Governor of Maryland. Plus he's been the front man of the Celtic rock band O'Malley's march. I bet you didn't know that one, that since 1988, the guy rocks out.
Jim Webb is 69 years old, he's a former Virginia Senator, Assistant Secretary of Defense and Secretary of the Navy, also an Emmy-award winning journalist and author of ten books.
Lincoln chafe, 62 years old, former independent Governor of Rhode Island and former Republican Senator. He joined the Democratic Party in 2013, he's graduate of Brown University back in 1975.
Michael Smerconish, oh, now we got a candidate, he's my guess. He's live in Las Vegas. I want to talk about a little bit about these three other guys. Thanks for joining us Michael.
[12:50:02] So here's the thing. They not only have to get known, which monumental path when you have those kinds of examples out on the streets that Alisyn Camerota saw. But you have to be remembered. How do you do that first part and do the second part all in one night?
MICHAEL SMERCONISH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, Ashleigh listening to the set up it reminds me of a great seen in "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance kid" if I get the line right it was, who are these guys? You known, when Redford and Newman are finally felt like they're being close and upon, who are these three? And I think you did a nice job of explaining who they are in Cliff Note version.
As I look at them I say, well, Martin O'Malley has been working it, very, very hard but he hasn't been able to get traction. I don't know why we would think on this stage tonight that will change. Lincoln Chaffee, kind of hard for me to see why a former Republican senator from Rhode Island is going to electrify this crowd.
The X-factor as I see it is Jim Webb because he's so nuance, he your really not sure what you're going to get. You mentioned the books. You can delve into some of the fiction that he's written and get a picture of the man. He's a marine who was highly decorated. Yes, he was Secretary of the Navy. What's interesting? He was Ronald Reagan's Secretary of the Navy.
I think he really is not someone easily able to be classified, you know, in a context where we love putting liberal, conservative, moderate labels on individuals. So I see him as the individual who has the Carly Fiorina potential on this stage more than others.
BANFIELD: That's the question everyone is asking. Who is going to be the Carly Fiorina if anybody?
Michael Smerconish, thank you and have a good time while you're out there. But not too good, you're still on the clock my friend.
SMERCONISH: Thank you.
BANFIELD: So coming up next. Who is Dennis Rodman supporting for president? How about Katy Perry or Tom Brady? Do you care? Does it matter? Surprisingly it does. And I'll explain why the celebrities do count and do matter next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:56:02] BANFIELD: That is a pretty site, folks. It is warm and toasty out there in Las Vegas at 9:56 a.m. Pacific Time. It will be a barn burner tonight, and that's official, it will be a barn burner.
This is inside of the debate hall, electrified in 7 hours and 33 minutes from now as the first Democratic debate gets under way, right here live on CNN. And guess who kicks it off? No, not Clinton or Bernie. It is Sheryl Crow who kicks off the action there. That's right. She's going to sing the national anthem for the Democratic debate, and our coverage is going to start live at 8:30. And speaking of Sheryl Crow, celebrities actually they do play a really big role in people who vote for president. And if you think back to who Oprah Winfrey endorse President Obama, it made a big difference.
If you want to take a look who the celebrities are supporting this time around, I suggest you tune in right now to our Kyung Lah.
KYUNG LAH, CNN NATIONALCORRESPONDENT: Celebrity always goes hand in hand with presidential politics. Then there is this year.
Watching a people magazine.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm Hispanic and I vote for Mr. Trump.
LAH: Fandom meets a superstar who happen to be the Republican front- runner. Thanks to Donald Trump the current of celebrity is taking on a new calculus.
SARAH SILVERMAN, COMEDIAN: Bernie, President Bernie.
LAH: Comedian Sarah Silverman, not the only famous supporter of Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders. His campaign releasing this a collective list of 100 plus celebrity backers.
From the Red Hot Chili Peppers basis flee to Danny DeVito who "Star Wars on his tweet, Bernie Sanders you our only hope."
Not to be outdone Hillary Clinton sandwich in her own Kimye moment, also supporting Clinton actress Lena Dunham and Katy Perry who roar her support on Instagram, even volunteering to write Hillary's theme song.
Katy Perry, why does her opinion -- why did anybody opinion...
TED JOHNSON, SENIOR EDITOR, VERIETY: Yes.
LAH: ... who's a celebrity matter?
JOHNSON: I think celebrity does have a currency in kind of affirming your existing beliefs, right. If you are wavering about a candidate.
LAH: A measurable effect. Remember in 2008, many recognizable faces backed then candidate Barack Obama. But it was this face who pumped his polls.
OPRAH WINFREY, THE OPRAH WINFREY SHOW: I'm here because of my personal conviction about Barack Obama.
LAH: An endorsement that a northwestern university study found actually translated into votes.
CRAIG GARTHWAITE, ASSISTANT PROF. NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY: The endorsement of Oprah Winfrey of then Senator Obama resulted about a million additional votes in the 2008 Democratic primary.
LAH: Let the fawning for even Pawn Stars begin Marco Rubio scoring Rick Harrison. RICK HARRISON, PAWN STARS: Trust me, I know a good investment when I see one.
LAH: Even star athletes weigh in Dennis Rodman who lastly supported North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Twitted, "We don't need another politician, Trump 2016".
Then there is Patriot QB Tom Brady appearing to endorse Trump by supporting Trump's make America great again cap in he's locker.
TOM BRADY, PATRIOT QUARTER BACK: I think he's got what it takes. And I hope so.
LAH: Well, Tom Brady later said that wasn't a true endorsement of Trump. So is there another Oprah sect on the Horizon anytime soon, so far not really. 2008 is a very different media landscape than 2015 and a lot of celebrities have already come out Hillary Clinton.
Kyung Lah, CNN Los Angeles.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Thank you for that Kyung. I love that. Rodman like Kim Jong- un and Donald Trump. That's all for now.
[13:00:07] Thank you everybody. Good to have you. "Wolf" start right now.
